Forgotten But Not Really
by Yuuram von Bielefeld-Shibuya
Summary: Juvia and Natsu get a glimpse of their ice mage's past. But it seems little Gray isn't a happy bunny right now.
1. Daddy's Precious Gift

Like any day in the lives of Fairy Tail guild members, it wasn't ordinary. Especially since a certain water mage and a certain fire mage woke up in a snow covered town that seemed dull and isolated. Except, they knew exactly where they were, just not how exactly they got there - Isvan. And they both knew all too well what had happened to this once active village - it'd been heavily and mercilessly destroyed at the hands of a demon from The Book of Zeref, leaving only one survivor - Gray Fullbuster.

"But...I thought he and Lyon said the place got destroyed..." Natsu was almost at a loss for words, for once, as he looked round the area. Juvia stood and helped him up too before looking around as well. Everything was silent until there was the distant cry of somebody shouting for their father. It sounded frantic, but joyous. The two quickly scrambled to hide behind a wall, a small gap in between where it'd been broken was their only way of seeing what was happening.

A large, well built, man came out of a house nearby. He looked tired and worn out but gave a smile as a small boy came running up to him. The boy was instantly recognised by Natsu and Juvia as being Gray. The man, who was his father, looked down at him with a loving smile and ruffled his hair affectionately before crouching down to the child's height. "Well Gray, what did you find this time?"

"It was awesome! It was amazing! It was...umm...err...ah..." he trailed off into thought before looking back at his father, "I think it was a monster of some sort" he eventually said with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of his head in habit. "So what are we doing today, Dad?"

"Today we're not doing anything too special I'm afraid, I have to work at the store for a few hours".

"Aw man...you said you'd teach me magic today!"

"I know, I know kiddo, but it can't be helped. Listen, we'll practice teaching you some magic once I get another day off, alright?"

Gray sighed and his shoulders slumped, losing his grin too. His father also sighed and stood back up, patting Gray's shoulder gently. Just then a women came out of the house and smiled at the two males. Gray gave her a small smile but avoided her gaze after a few moments. "Hey Mum..."

"Good morning Gray, breakfast is on the table for you. I keep telling you not to stay out too late and I don't expect you to stay out all night either, Mister".

"I know, I'm sorry..." Gray then took the chance to slip indoors to fetch breakfast and the things he'd need for the day. His mother sighed and rested a hand on her rounded belly.

"If he's like this now then who knows what he'll be like when the baby arrives..."

"I'm sure he'll be fine once he understands it's not going to replace him".

The women looked at her husband, a little shocked, "Oh Silver, is that what he thinks?"

"That's what the little mite told me at least. Either he truly thinks that or one of his friends told him that" Silver replied. "He'll be fine Mika, whether he gets a sister or a brother, he'll love them more than anyone".

Natsu was about to say something to Juvia when she pointed out Gray's shadow slipping out the side of the house and running off. In silent agreement, they decided to follow him.

* * *

Gray was heading toward the outer area of the village, a small bag slung over his shoulder. He eventually stood at the entrance to a small forest and looked round him to see if anybody was following him before going into the trees. Natsu and Juvia grew somewhat suspicious and followed quietly as not to alert him of their presence. Gray followed down a worn out path before coming to a clearing where a few other kids were, they all looked pleasantly surprised to see him but happy at the same time.

"Baby troubles Fullbuster?" one boy sneered jokingly. Gray just stuck his tongue out in return and took up a space opposite the boy, the bag at his feet. "So what did you manage to sneak out?"

"Like I said yesterday, I don't have much. I only got what I could so no complaining".

"Gray weren't you supposed to be spending the day with your dad?" a girl who sat next to him asked.

Gray only shook his head and shrunk down a little, beginning to grow quiet until the boy spoke up again. "Oh c'mon Tama, he's just afraid that daddy's gonna replace him with this new baby their having".

"I am not!" Gray protested childishly. "I just...I dunno..."

"They're not so bad once you get used to being woken at random hours during the night" Tama told him, resting a hand softly on his knee.

"Yeah but then there's the part where your dad's never gonna teach you magic cause he's always too busy with the baby and helping your mum".

"Oh my gosh, Takeru, would you shut up about it? It's not helping Gray feel better about this whole situation".

"Tama, it's fine. Like you said, I just gotta get used to it..." Gray gave the girl a small smile before hugging her - Juvia was almost having a fit.

Takeru then got a sly idea. "Hey Gray, before we start building what we can of the fort, can I give ya something?"

"Umm...s-sure...?"

"Great!" Takeru stood up and walked over to the two before grabbing Gray's shoulders and smacking their lips together. Gray's eyes flew wide and he squirmed, eventually kicking the other boy off him and pinning him to the ground, slamming a fist into the ground beside his head.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABOUT?!"

"I thought it'd cheer you up! Guess it didn't"

"That was...that was..."

"Your first kiss?"

"NO! Of course it wasn't!" Gray let the other boy up but sent him back to the ground with a swift kick to the shin. "You can't just do something like to people, especially your best friend!"

Takeru stood back up and grinned, "I'm sorry Gray. But y'know, kissing you isn't all that bad. Whoever becomes your soulmate is one lucky guy! Or girl".

"W-Whatever! I'm not interested in that sort of stuff. I don't think I ever will be".

"Oh yes because you totally haven't been checking Natsu out"

"Shut up!"

"What?" Natsu was a little dumbfounded from where he sat with Juvia. Juvia just giggled quietly.

"Natsu is a girl's name, with all due respect, Natsu-san".

"Oh... Eh heh" the fire mage grinned sheepishly and ran a hand through his hair.

Takeru just smirked and chuckled at Gray's slightly flushed face. "Oh plu-ease, every time she's anywhere near you, you just can't help but freeze into a statue, face turning red and I bet your heart is pounding too"

"I said shut up! I don't like her like that, I don't!"

"Then who do you like?" Tama asked.

"Nobody!"

"Whatever dude, anyway, let's get building this fort we decided upon. Got the plans?"

"Yup, right here!" Gray rummaged in his bag until he found what he was looking for, handing them over. The team looked over the plans for a final check and then began to build.

* * *

When the trio had grown bored of building the fort for the day, they wondered on what else they could do. Gray sat beside Takeru on a wall near the edge of Isvan, swinging his legs and looking up at the sky like the most innocent thing in the world. Tama had found the local stray cat and had decided to play with it. Takeru was also looking at the sky until he tried wrapping an arm round Gray but the latter quickly jumped off the wall before he could. "What?" Takeru asked innocently as Gray scowled at him.

"Don't play dumb with me dumbass, I know what you were tryna do to me. Your brothers are a bad influence on you Takeru".

"Aw c'mon Fullbuster, what's eatin' you today? Besides the new sibling".

"Nothing". He looked up at the sky again. "I should get home, my dad's gonna send a search party otherwise".

Natsu folded his arms, that Takeru guy was getting on his nerves easily by the way he acted around Gray and he could only imagine Juvia felt the same.

"You're so lame, always having to run home to Daddy before he kicks your pathetic ass. Live a little!"

"Takeru, leave him alone. I'm not surprised he wants to go home to get away from your stupid flirting. We're too young for that stuff anyway!" Tama tried to scold him.

"Nah, Gray's just a big baby that's all. He's too much of a wimp to fight back. I bet if a demon from The Book of Zeref was here he'd pee himself in fear!" the boy began to howl with laughter and Gray's fist tightened at his side.

Before Takeru could say anything more, a strong fist connected with his jaw and sent him flying off the wall and into a pile of snow behind him. Gray winced a little at the pain that shot through his hand but ignored it best he could and stalked off home. "I'll show 'em. One day I'll be as strong as my dad...one day I'll have the best magic there is and then they'll all see who's a scaredy wimp!" he muttered to himself.

* * *

Juvia and Natsu followed Gray home and he was greeted by his parents happily. Gray forced a smile after seeing his mother's belly again and quickly made haste for his room, Natsu and Juvia quickly slipping inside before anyone noticed. It turned out that nobody could see them, so they didn't have to hide so much anymore. Gray's room wasn't the best in the world. He only had a few scattered and tattered dolls, some wooden toys and a few books. Gray sat on a chest by the window and sighed. "Today's the worst..." he stifled a sniffle and rubbed his arm across his eyes to rid of any tears. "I should've gotten him something...but all I managed to do today was get hit on and punch my best friend in the jaw. They're gonna be so disappointed and angry at me. Running away isn't an option, that'd make things worse, like before when they said they were gonna have a new baby". By this time Gray was crying a little. "I just wanted one more day with my dad before everything changed for the worse..."

Juvia and Natsu's hearts went out to the child, Juvia was trying her hardest not to walk over and hug him, and Natsu was trying his hardest not to walk over and smack him on the head and tell him to stop being so stupid. Natsu sensed someone coming and quickly pulled Juvia out of the way of the door as Silver walked in, closed the door quietly and walked over to his son, who was now looking up at him in slight fear.

"Gray, tell me what's wrong. Why are you crying? It's not like you". Gray only looked away towards the window and gave a small hiccup. "Gray, answer me". Still Gray sat silently, though more tears slid down his cheeks. "Gray, if this is about your new sibling then it's getting ridiculous. You can't just ignore this forev-"

"It's not about the baby!"

"...Then what is it about?"

"I forgot...to...get you something for your birthday today..."

Silver sighed and then chuckled, picking his son up and taking his place, resting the boy on his knee. "That's what you're upset about?"

"That and Takeru tried hitting on me again..." Gray muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

Silver hugged his son close, letting the latter nestle close to him. "Gray...you know you don't need to get me anything. All I want everyday is my family, that means more to me than a simple gift ever could".

"Really? So...I'm not in trouble?"

Silver shook his head and gave a small laugh. "Not at all. Me and your mother thought you ran out through the back door because of the baby".

"Oh...well, I'm still not liking the idea much".

"That's alright, you'll grow used to it, I'm sure".

"Dad?"

"Hm?"

"...Am I ever gonna be strong like you?"

"Oh Gray, of course you will. You just gotta grow up more and practice whatever magic you end up learning. But remember, one day you're going to have to cool down once in a while, alright? No hissy fits and sulking. No crying over small things. Your heart will always be in the right place, I know you'll do me proud".

Juvia put a hand on her heart, feeling it's pulsing beat under her palm while Natsu gave a soft smile. They both knew what had happened during their time with Tartarous, that Silver's body had been used as a tool for Deliora. Natsu and Juvia both silently vowed to be there for their ice mage whenever they had to be. And wit that final thought, they both collapsed and woke up in their rooms back in their time.

* * *

Natsu was on his way to the guild when he ran into Juvia. "Hey...did you have a dream last night about Gray and his father?"

"Silver-sama? Oh yes, Juvia found it most upsetting but sweet indeed".

"You haven't seen Gray yet, have you?"

Juvia shook her head. "No, Natsu-san, Juvia has not seen Gray-sama".

Natsu nodded and the two continued on their way tot he guild, not noticing they were passing the local cemetery until they recognised Gray's curled up form beside a particular stone. The two walked over quietly and Gray looked over his shoulder at them. "Hey you guys..."

"Hey yourself, Ice Princess, whatcha doing here?"

"Oh..." Gray lifted himself up and stretched, revealing the name on the stone; _Silver Fullbuster. "Today used to be my father's birthday..."_

"Gray-sama misses Silver-sama, doesn't he?"

Gray nodded and Juvia took that as the opportunity to wrap her arms round her ice mage's waist comfortingly, letting him rest his hands on her shoulders gently. Natsu only grinned and ruffled his rival's hair a little bit. "We're always here for ya buddy, don't forget it". Gray vowed to himself to never forget that Juvia and Natsu always were and always had been and always would be with him.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, I did this kinda based off the latest episode that just got released: A Boy's Tale. Oh boy Juvia is gonna flip isn't she?! Did you guys see the look in her eye! And Silver being Gray's father is just so freaking awesome! But that flashback though (not the one with a cute little unconscious Lyon being held up by Gray) was so freaking sad! It brought tears to my eyes the way Gray was just shown kneeling beside his father's body, crying helplessly while Deliora was in the background destroying things. Heck, the poor boy has been through more Hell than most of these characters! Ah well, this week is Gray vs Silver, the big fight! So looking forward to it! :D Please review, I love reviews! Oh, and yes, in my mind Juvia and Natsu as well as Lyon are the closest people to Gray (maybe I think that cause Gratsu, Gruvia and Lyoray are my top 3 ships...hmm...)**


	2. Best Friends Forever

When Natsu awoke another morning, he found himself back in Isvan. "Again? I wonder if Juvia's here too..." Just then he recognised the voice of a young Gray calling his name in a cheery tone. Could he be seen? Was this one of Gray's dreams and he knew who Natsu was instead of naturally being confused?

"Natsu!"

"Yes Gray, what is it?" Now that wasn't Natsu's voice...

"I...err...h-have something for you?"

Natsu peeked over the wall he'd found himself behind and saw Gray talking to a young girl with light brown hair in a longish plaited ponytail hanging over he shoulder. Gray had a small blush on his face as well as a sheepish grin whilst the girl, Natsu, had a bored expression. "Gray, I don't have time to go find worms and monsters with you and Takeru, alright? Can I go now?" Before Gray could reply, the girl walked off away from him. _Poor Gray, what a way to get shot down..._ Natsu thought sadly.

"Gray, I saw you! I saw you cheating on me!" Came a familiar whiny voice. Natsu suppressed a growl as Takeru came bounding up to Gray and proceeded to squeeze him round the waist tightly. Gray just huffed best he could and rolled his eyes.

"How much longer are you going to keep doing this? We're not dating. We probably never will. And we're too young".

"Oh relax, Fullbuster, I'm just messin'. You've been hanging around girls way too much lately. It feels like I haven't seen you in weeks!"

"...You saw me literally just yesterday. It hasn't even been 24 hours since then".

"I-I knew that!" Takeru growled and Gray smirked a little. "S-Shut up!"

"I didn't say anything! So what was with you hurrying on over here then? Is it something important this time?"

"When it comes to you, my good friend, it's always important".

"Yeah right, so what is it?"

"Just thought you'd wanna go down to the river is all".

"It's the dead of winter, it'll be frozen over. The lake will be too".

"Hello? Is the real Gray Fullbuster anywhere in there? What happened to make you such a killjoy?"

"Knock it off. Look, if you wanna go to the river so badly then let's grab Tama, Mitsu and Chiko and go".

"Yay! You're the greatest person alive~!"

"Don't push it..."

* * *

Takeru's stunning blonde hair was styled similar to Gray's, messy but casual, and it was beginning to blind Natsu's eyes - not mention Natsu didn't particularly like this boy anyway. Tama shared the blonde colour but paler. Mitsu had soft silver hair and Chiko had dark blue almost black like Gray. They all watched as Takeru threw various rocks at the ice, attempting to break it. Gray had his chin cupped in his hands from where he sat on the ground beside Mitsu and Chiko. Tama stood beside him and sighed.

"Takeru, you're not gonna break it, just leave it".

"No way, I'm getting there! ...Slowly!"

Gray rolled his eyes and looked round at hearing some people talking. He got up and slipped away from his friends to follow the voices. They led him upstream and he had to crouch behind a broken wall, peeking round the side to find two men clad in black arguing with one another.

"I told you to just break it with an axe pick or whatever".

"Nah, blowing it up is way easier and more effective".

"Ugh, fine, have it your way! Just make sure it works".

Gray didn't have to be told what to do next and he scrambled to get up and run back to his friends. "Guys! Hey guys! We gotta get back to the village!"

"Why? I'm sorry I'm taking so long and making you bored" Takeru huffed, annoyed.

"No, I just saw two weirdos talking about blowing up the ice!"

"And? If they do that then it'll save us doing it".

Gray growled in frustration and began walking off to a safety zone. "Fine! If you fall don't expect me to save you, or worse". The others, except Takeru, followed Gray to a safety zone - much to Natsu's sadistic delight. Just then there was an explosion heard and the group whirled round as the ice began to crack dangerously under Takeru's feet. The boy actually looked a little scared and looked at his friends with a pleading look. Gray knew the others wouldn't risk it, but despite what he'd said, he still cared for his friend - as annoying as he was.

Natsu watched, slightly disappointed, as Gray did his best to step over the ice cracks and grabbed Takeru's hand, tugging him close and then yanking them both off the ice and to the safety zone as shard of ice began to shower on them. One small shard caught itself in Gray's shoulder and another sliced his cheek, drawing blood to trickle from the wound, but he ignored it. When they caught their breath from running back to the center on the village, Silver noticed that his son had been injured and immediately walked up to the group.

"H-Hey dad" Gray greeted him shakily, wiping the blood from his cheek gently. "What's up?"

"...What trouble have you gotten yourself into now to end up with ice in your shoulder, you stupid boy?"

Gray then noticed the pain that shot through his shoulder - and the fact that his dad had just decided to merely rip it out - and cringed, gritting his teeth and letting out a small hiss as he pressed his hand onto the wounded area. He looked up at his father and before he could open his mouth, Takeru butted in and explained the whole situation himself.

* * *

Natsu went to the guild that evening to find Gray having a bandage wrapped around his arm from his shoulder down to his elbow. Natsu bounded over and asked what happened - turned out Gray had been caught slightly with one of Lyon's ice shards during a fight they'd arranged. Natsu sighed and hugged his friend. "Want me to beat the bastard up for you in return?"

"No need, I'll get him back next time".

"Whatever you say buddy, just know that I'll do anything for you, okay? No matter what".


	3. Love Is Complicated When In Denial

**A/N: Why...do people like this? Ugh, I hate it, I really do. But if you guys like it then I'll keep writing for it.**

* * *

It was Juvia who found herself in Isvan for a second time. Nobody else had joined her, so she decided to immediately seek out Gray. She walked through the snow covered town and eventually came across the young boy sitting under a tree by himself. Juvia knew he couldn't see her, but his expression was so blank and yet...fearful too. The water mage walked closer, noticing she wasn't leaving behind any footprints and quietly knelt down beside Gray. The boy was almost frozen. When Juvia took in his appearance, he seemed paler than usual and almost had a sickly look to him. He was trying his best not to shiver at the cold and was wearing some of the thinnest clothing he probably had. Juvia couldn't think of a situation where Gray would be stunned like this - unless he was testing himself on something.

"Gray?" the boy slowly blinked at the sound of his name, a few snowflakes falling from his eyelashes and a thin layer of ice cracking as he moved his head a little. "Gray? Where are you?"

"O...Over here..." he called weakly, voice sounding raspy and fragile. They both heard footsteps crunching in the snow until Mika, his mother, appeared and ran over to him, scooping him up and hugging him close.

"For goodness sake Gray, you are going to be the death of me if you keep running away like this. I know you still don't like the idea of a sibling but it's something you have to get used to. And why on Earth did you think you could withstand this temperature?"

"I dunno...I guess I thought it'd be fun".

"You're lucky I was able to find you easily, any longer out here and you might've died of hypothermia! Or did your father end up giving you another brainless idea?"

"Well...he did say that he learned his magic from staying in the cold". Juvia couldn't help but smile as she stood, the boy in his mother's arms before her was certainly predicting his own future - she wondered if he fought with people on a daily basis too, or perhaps caused trouble for people. Probably.

"Your father can be an idiot sometimes, Gray. Listen, I've heard about you liking Natsu, that true?"

"N-NO!" the boy pretty much yelled as he buried his face in his mother's neck to hide the blush that covered his cheeks.

"Always in denial, hm? You really are just like your father" Mika chuckled. "Your father denied liking me but eventually he gathered enough courage to ask me out, and now we're happily married with you".

"But what if I screw up...?" came a mumbled reply.

Mika brought him away from her and kissed his forehead. "Don't fret about that, just take it as it goes. Be yourself, alright?"

"Alright" Gray smiled, "Thanks"

* * *

A little later into the day, Gray was approached by Natsu - the girl Juvia had taken a natural disliking to - and Takeru just had to be with him at this time, didn't he? "Hey Gray, I need to ask you something" Natsu greeted him.

"If you're taking him on a date then you can't cause he's-" Takeru was cut off with a hard punch to the gut from his best friend while the latter grinned sheepishly.

"Sure Natsu, what is it you need?"

Takeru tried to subtly pull Gray closer to him but the latter quickly got up and moved closer to his 'crush'. Natsu gave them both a strange look before replying. "Err...I just need you to come with me to make sure nobody catches me going to the cliffside".

"Why do you want to go there? My dad says it's too dangerous to go".

"Silver's just a scaredy cat Gray, c'mon. You're brave aren't you?" Natsu smirked.

"Of course I am! Well, we should get going now before anybody notices. Takeru, don't you dare say a word to anyone, okay?"

"And if I do?" the blond boy shrugged.

"I'll make sure to ignore you for a month and maybe more, understand?" Juvia couldn't help but be amused at his little threat. Takeru just nodded and slunk off to find their other friends whilst Gray and Natsu sneaked off to the cliffside.

* * *

Gray kept glancing back to make sure they weren't being followed and Natsu hummed a little tune to herself as they walked. Eventually they reached their destination and Natsu grinned happily whilst Gray felt his jaw drop in disappointment. " _This_ is what we came here for? To look at the same scenery we can see from the village?" That earned him a hard whack on the head from Natsu, making him wince - smooth move Gray, way to go. "Hey Natsu?"

"Hm?"

This was it. He was going to do it. "Umm..." Here we go... "Natsu, do you...wanna...umm..." Confidence decreasing... "Err..."

"Just spit it out Gray"

"D-Do you wanna go out with Takeru?!" Wait... _WHAT?!_ Why the heck did that bastard come to mind instead of his own damn name?!

Natsu gave him a bemused look and sighed heavily - why did she ask this useless child to come with her? "Why would you ask such a thing? As far as I can see, he's into you. You two make a lovely couple though".

Gray cringed and kicked some snow in frustration. "I'm g-going back..."

"Aww, you miss him already! That's so super sweet! Alright, let's go" and she proceeded to drag the poor boy back to Isvan.

* * *

When Juvia walked into the guild that morning, Gray was first to greet her. She was slightly concerned, she normally had to approach him. Perhaps...this was the day she'd been dreaming of...? Gray got up to meet her and pulled her to a more secluded corner of the guild hall, sitting her down and trying to be serious but had a slight blush on his cheeks.

"Juvia..."

"Yes Gray-sama?"

"D-Do you...like..."

"Gray-sama can say whatever he needs to in front of Juvia"

"D-Do you like Natsu?"

Juvia couldn't help but laugh as Gray slammed his head on the table, muttering curses at himself and groaning at the pain. "Does Gray-sama mean himself?"

Gray's head shot up, face turning red before shaking it frantically. "N-No! I-I didn't mean to say _his_ name at least!"

Juvia couldn't help but giggle and reach over to kiss him on the forehead, making his face redder. "Juvia knows Gray-sama is just still in denial. Juvia's okay with that"

* * *

 **A/N: I think Takeru is my favourite character in this xD**


	4. Brothers, By Blood Or Not

**A/N: ...THAT LATEST EPISODE OF FAIRY TAIL WAS SO FREAKING SAD! WAHHH! But did you see all the Gratsu love in the new intro~? xD There's always Gratsu in the intros though lol. Silver was...at the GMG?! Like wha...?! OHHHH SO** ** _THAT'S_** **HOW HE KNEW LYON! xD I'm such an idiot! Well, now you know what this chapter's gonna entail :D**

* * *

Lyon grumbled and groaned as he awoke in Crocus. How did he get here? Wasn't he currently on a mission with his team? He looked round and quickly stepped out of someone's way before hearing cheers and looked round to find a screen showing billows of dust from a fight. Oh great, was this another one of his weird dreams where he was challenged against Gray in the Grand Magic Games and proceeded to kick his ass but this time he was watching himself? Normally in these dreams he replaced Rufus during Gray's fight but when the dust cleared he saw that it wasn't what he thought. There, on the screen, stood Gray, victorious from his fight and wearing Rufus' hat, considering it a trophy. Lyon couldn't help but chuckle, he'd been proud that day when his younger brother had won, it thrilled him.

He expected the dream to be over now that he'd gotten the thrilled and excited feeling but nothing happened, until someone within the small crowd moved away. Lyon's eyes widened in surprise and unbelief. How could _he_ be here?! It was impossible! Lyon had seen the body of this man himself when he'd first found Gray in the rubble that was originally Isvan! So how was he here...at the Grand Magic Games...watching his precious son win a tough fight...? Lyon, noticing that nobody had recognised him and bombarded him with interviews, followed the man who he believed to be dead, and heard him mutter something he never expected to hear from someone's mouth but his own (and it'd only come from his own mouth if he was teasing his fellow student). "I'm proud of you Gray...and happy that you're alive...that you made it..." the man sighed contently, "I know that ice mage from Lamia Scale can take care of you like a brother if he needs to..."

Lyon felt his heart twitch. Ur had considered them surrogate brothers when they trained together, and Lyon secretly had Gray down as a brother, but did not know if the other ice mage had the same thought. He shook his head and watched the man walk away. He'd always known Gray looked up to his father most out of everyone he knew, but if he knew his father was still around...? Lyon couldn't even imagine what would happen. Would Gray leave Fairy Tail? If he did would they hear from him again? Would he hear from him again? Lyon didn't want to think about something like that happening.

Before he knew it, the dream was up and he awoke back in the forest where his team were currently residing before they reached their destination for their mission. He sighed quietly and looked up at the faint moon as the sun began to rise. "I bet if you did leave I'd soon find you again...just like before..."

* * *

A few days later, Lyon went to 'visit' his little brother. The resident ice mage of Fairy Tail almost jumped out of his skin as an ice javelin shot at him from the doorway, barely missing his neck and lodged itself into the wall. He looked at the direction it came from with a glare before smirking. "I see we haven't quite mastered that yet Lyon".

"Shut up. Honestly, your manners get worse every time I see you, are you taking medication for that to happen?"

"Ha ha, hilarious. My sides are splitting from the pain of laughing so hard" Gray replied sarcastically. Just then, Lyon strode up to him and grabbed the front of his shirt (which he surprisingly still had on) but before anything could be said between the two more, a few liquid substances poured onto them both, creating a thick cloud and a lot of coughing from those around them. Nobody had noticed the few potion bottles that had been on a shelf just above where Gray was standing.

Once the cloud had faded away, there stood a small white haired boy, wearing nothing but black shorts and a green tee, and another raven haired boy sat in front of him, coughing cutely, wearing a dark blue shirt and black trousers (yes their clothes changed back to ones they had when they were young, just go with it, it's magic after all). Mira clasped her hands to her mouth, trying to stifle a giggle but couldn't. "You two look adorable!"

Gray stopped coughing and shook his head, rubbing his eyes with the palm on his hand as Lyon looked at him in question before beginning to seethe with anger. "Gray, I came here to beat your pathetic ass but now I might just as well kill you!"

But before the small Lamia Scale mage could attack his brother, Gray let out a sneeze at the dropped temperature from Lyon's magic and sat there, arms wrapped round himself, shivering. "Dammit...this is an age when I didn't have magic...it's freezing..." The Fairy Tail mage sneezed again followed by another cough and Lyon halted his spell, padding over to kneel before his fellow ice mage and wrapped him in a cuddle, much to the amusement of the mages around them and Gray's obvious discomfort. "Lyon~" he whined, "Let go of me~"

"Nope".

"Why not? Let go~"

"You're cold, aren't you?"

"Yeah but you have magic so you're not helping to warm me up!"

"True, but it's better than letting that dumb fire mage of yours accidentally burn you".

Gray grumbled as Natsu tried to protest in the background, but in the end he slowly returned Lyon's embrace, nestling into his frame - for the warmth, yes, just for the warmth...of course.

* * *

 **I couldn't help myself, after seeing the episode, I HAD to write something like this! Plus I did say to myself that I would put Lyon in here at some point :D Also, that new intro...I can't get over it, it's amazing! Also, there was some Navia (Natsu x Juvia) love in the episode hehe, cute. But then in the outro it showed everyone Natsu cared about...except Juvia...? Like, what...? During the episode he called out for her at least 3 times and then during the outro it was like 'eh, he doesn't care' ? I'm so terribly confused by that, lol.**

 **Also when Silver said that he learned his Ice Devil Slayer magic cause E.N.D is a fire demon I was like... But...Ice is weak to Fire...right? Did that confuse anyone else? Surely if you were gonna learn magic to beat something you would learn the magic that's strong against it right? I swear...this anime is getting more and more messed up by every episode.**

 **AND it was like when Silver asked Gray to kill him, I was like "Gray, if hurling an iron ball straight through him didn't do anything but knock him on the ground, what good is that ice sword of yours gonna do?!" And then Silver just telepathically asks Juvia to do it because Gray says he can't and I was sitting there like "But...shouldn't you have gotten Gray to go kill Keyes then? Wouldn't that of made more sense?!" x( I swear I just...argh...it's so confusing to me, lol.**

 **Also, I don't read the manga, and I've heard that at the moment there's a really good Gruvia part but I only watch the anime so PLEASE don't tell me anything about it! All I know is that there's a war and they've split and he said he'd give her an answer after it's over, but that's all I know! I'm just waiting for the anime version of it. I already knew what happened with Silver cause I looked at spoilers ages ago but left him out of my fanfictions until he appeared in the anime.**

 **Anyway, sorry for the long rant about the latest episode but it needed to be off my chest...it did. xD Anyway, next chapter will be featuring little Gray and Lyon again, but with Ur. Yep, I'm not just sticking to the time of Gray's childhood before Deliora attacked. And just be aware that everything will mention Silver somehow - that was the aim of this fic in the first place :D**


	5. Amateur Aid

**Really wanted to get this one out there...**

* * *

Natsu and Juvia woke up in a different snow covered place this time. The only thing in sight was a small cabin in the distance, as well as two shadows jumping around and yelling. The two already knew what was happening, and when they saw a burst of blue magic from where the yelling was coming from, they immediately knew what time period they were in - when Gray was training with Lyon under Ur.

Juvia and Natsu grew closer to the scene where Lyon was shooting bursts of magic at Gray, who was trying his hardest to dodge by sliding and flipping around in the snow. They were alone right now, as Ur had left them to go to the town and collect up some new supplies, and the boys had gotten into an argument near enough straight away. And of course, it seemed to be Gray's fault - as it always was with Lyon.

"Why the hell don't you just leave?! It's not like you want to learn magic anyway, so you're pretty much useless around here!" Lyon yelled, launching another attack. Gray swiftly dodged, slipping slightly but quickly regaining his balance. He was breathing hard and had a noticeable pained look in his eye if one was close enough. The young raven haired boy composed himself and sucked in a much needed breath as Lyon walked up to him and shoved him to the ground, clamping a foot on his chest. "It's no wonder Deliora killed everyone you knew, just look at you. I bet it only kept you alive because it wants you to suffer more. Apparently death isn't enough for you".

"Well what about you? How did you end up here?"

"Pshht, why on Earth would I ever tell you that? It's none of your damn business anyway".

"It was just a question, jeez".

"Why would you even care, Gray? You can just leave now and Ur probably wouldn't notice and even if she did she wouldn't care. She's not our mother, she never will be. With her you either learn magic or you don't, simple as that. So since you don't want to learn, you might as well just go run out into the snow and survive on your own". Gray clenched a fist at his side, biting his lip, Lyon sneered and kicked him in the side, but not enough to actually hurt painfully. "Even if you did learn magic, what would be the point? You practically give out curses everywhere you go. Heck I'm surprised _I_ haven't died yet from being around you".

When he got no response this time, the white haired boy snorted in disgust and triumph before stalking back inside the cabin. Gray sat up and checked himself for any visible injuries - Ur would kill them both if she knew they'd fought. Gray sighed and also trudged inside, wiping the snow from himself and climbing onto the couch to finish reading the book Ur had given him before she left. Natsu and Juvia followed him inside and sat at the table, taking in their surroundings.

Gray was struggling to read a certain passage as he kept muttering aloud to himself until he heard a faint sound coming from Lyon's room. The boy put down his book, intrigued, and quietly padded over to the door of the other boy's room, pressing his ear against it. Was he...crying...? Gray pulled away a little bit and looked hesitant for a moment before he knocked on the wooden rectangle. "Lyon...? You okay?"

Something thudded against the other side of the door, making Gray jump back and an angry growl followed it, "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Gray sighed and tried again, concerned for Ur's student.

"Lyon, you can talk to me y'know, it wouldn't hurt you to. I might even be able to help you. Even if you are a little brat towards me".

"Oh shut up, like you're one to talk!"

"Fine," Gray huffed, "be that way with me then". And so he went back to his book but he couldn't regain focus on the words on the pages, so he went looking around for something else to do. The only thing he really managed to do was make himself lunch and that was it. Lyon had refused anything from him.

* * *

Time passed by slowly, and Gray had taken a small nap by the time Lyon emerged from his room. He walked right up to Gray, a scowl still on his face, and poked the other boy til he woke up and got a kick to the side in annoyance. The blue eyed boy yawned, stretched and sat up, rubbing his eye while looking at him. "What now?"

Lyon simply grabbed his hand and dragged him outside into the freezing weather, a fire mage and water mage following. Gray wrapped his arms round himself in a poor effort to keep his warmth and Lyon continued to drag him through the snow. All was silent until Lyon suddenly slipped and rolled down the slope nearby, landing roughly at the bottom and making Gray's eyes widen in surprise. He wasted no time in charging down the slope and skidding to a halt at Lyon's side. That's when he noticed some of the snow was red and there was a small hard surface under the snow - most likely a pathway that had been covered up.

"L-Lyon...?" Gray kneeled by his side and shakily placed his hand over the boy's heart, feeling a heavy thumping rhythm and shakily sighed in relief. "He's still alive...thank goodness..." Tears formed in the corners of his eyes still as he stood up and hooked his arms under Lyon's and proceeded to drag him back up the slope - Lyon was heavier than he looked.

When Gray made it back to the cabin, tears had made faint tracks down his cheeks and a small blizzard had begun to pick up. He dragged Lyon inside and to his room, going back to shut the door and shake the snow off them both. He quickly looked round in the cupboards for any medical supplies and found some bandages. Taking them back to his patient, he ripped some off and wrapped them around Lyon's head to hopefully stop the bleeding. He knew it possibly wasn't right since he was such an amateur at this but he wasn't about to let someone bleed and lay hurt - even if they did hate him.

Once that was done, Gray checked Lyon over for any other wounds from the fall and exhaled happily when he found none other than a slightly out of place bone in his arm, which he'd sickly managed to put back in. He sat beside Lyon's bed after pulling the covers up and making the boy comfortable and prayed that he'd wake up before Ur got back.

* * *

When night came, Ur still wasn't back, so Gray knew she'd be staying somewhere and would be back by morning. He kept checking on his surrogate brother and making sure he was still doing okay before finally growing tired enough to turn in for the night. It wasn't until halfway through the night that he awoke to his door being creaked open and thought Ur had actually come home until he made out Lyon's silhouette in the dark. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, blinked softly and opened his mouth to speak when Lyon wrapped his arms round the younger boy. "Thank you Gray..."

Natsu and Juvia shared a grin and a smile before the scene faded to black before them.

* * *

Currently, Team Natsu and Lyon's team from Lamia Scale were camped out in the mountains. The two groups had been asked to team up together for a mission and so far Gray and Lyon had done nothing but glare and bicker between themselves. The teams were settling to sleep when Natsu noticed Lyon drag Gray outside. The Fire Dragon Slayer crept after them and listened from where he was with his keen sense of hearing.

"Gray?"

"What?"

"...Thanks..."

"For what?"

"That day I fell and hit my head and you patched me up".

"Oh, that...err...it was nothing".

"No, really, I mean it! You pretty much saved my life that day!"

"You're exaggerating".

"No, honestly Gray...after the way I treated you that day? Nobody else would've done that for someone who hated them so much back then...so it means so much to me that you did what you did, even if it hardly meant anything in the end".

Natsu smiled and made his way back to his own sleeping bag and settled down. He'd chosen to sleep beside Gray for the night, Lyon had chosen to sleep near the entrance and be lookout for the night. Gray came back in and climbed into his sleeping bag, giving Natsu a confused look as he settled. "What's with the smile on your face, Flame Brain?"

"Oh nothing, Ice Prick. Just wondering if you'd ever rescue me if I ever got into a tight spot is all".

"Moron, of course I would. I never leave a teammate behind". Natsu couldn't help but let his smile grow bigger and shine, giving a chuckle before curling up to sleep.

* * *

 **The ending didn't come out exactly the way I'd planned, but it's good enough I suppose. Hope you guys like it! Next time is gonna interest you guys a little more I hope. Oh, and originally in this Lyon was gonna have a panic attack :) Does anyone else feel like they've been writing something for hours and then it only comes out as like just over 1,000 words and it really annoys you? I'm like that a lot, lol.**


	6. Old Friends, New Ages

**Okay, so before I begin, this entails some things from** ** _Fairy Tail: Ice Trail_** **and the ending will also be giving a hint to what my next big story is about. This isn't the end of this one though, I aim for about 12 chapters with this one :D Enjoy! Also, Ice Trail isn't canon to the FT storyline/plot but it's really good and I liked it a lot. Also, this chapter isn't a dream and then reality like the others are, this is an exception to the style but not to the title/theme**

* * *

"Gray, you have mail!" Mira called happily from the bar as the ice mage walked in that morning. Gray groaned a little and mumbled something under his breath before walking over.

"What this time? More stupid love letters and marriage proposals from fans?"

"I don't know Gray, and I bet some of them aren't that bad".

"Have you seen some of these before I get Natsu to burn them? All the cheesy, sappy pick up lines like 'oh Gray, you're so hot I can't believe you haven't melted!' or the usual 'I'm home alone at so-and-so time and day, wanna come round and cool me down?' It drives me insane on most days. Getting it on the streets on my way here isn't enough, obviously".

"Hehe, aw they adore you. It's your fault for caring so much about how you look".

"I look pretty much like my father, and he didn't get this much attention when he was still alive and kicking".

"Hehe, oh Gray. Listen, I don't know what's in your mail but I know you hate love letters so all the ones with doodled hearts on I get Natsu to burn anyway before you can see they exist. Now go enjoy your reading. I'll bring you something over later".

"Yeah, thanks Mira" Gray grabbed his stack of mail and wandered over to his usual table, where Natsu already was.

"Hey buddy, whatcha got there?"

"Mail. Hopefully it's something interesting this time". The ice mage sat beside the fire mage and proceeded to open up his letters. As he came across the last few after passing through various fan letters (some were love letters, Natsu did his job in ridding them), he stopped as he recognised some very familiar handwriting. "No way...I haven't heard from him in so long..."

"Who?"

"...Pause" (pronounced Pausaay) Gray gave a small smile as he opened up the letter, "it's been a while since we contacted one another. He was the person that helped me get into Fairy Tail. Well, not exactly, but kinda. It's a long story".

"Cool, so what guild is he in?"

"He...he never told me that".

"I'm surprised he didn't join Fairy Tail with you if you were together".

"Yeah, well...like I said, it's a long story". Gray began to read the letter, his smile growing as he read.

 _Gray,_

 _I know it's been so long since we last spoke, but after watching the Grand Magic Games and seeing how tough you'd become, I thought it was time to get back in touch. Our guild wasn't a match for the Games, so we skipped on it, and we would've gotten a trip out to Crocus but decided it'd be less humiliation for our guild if we watched from home. You did so well in your fights and I've heard news of Fairy Tail's achievements everywhere recently. You guys really are like you always imagined, badass._

 _Doronbo is doing okay too, if you're wondering. He's learnt some magic better than using that weird drug he had on him now. And I've gotten better at my own magic too! Though, they're nothing compared to yours, of course. I know this letter is sorter than my old ones, but I suppose you have so much going on, don't you?_

 _I hope you write back someday, it's be great for our paths to cross again. Heck, knowing you and me I bet that it'd happen in the future. Well, I guess that's it for now, I don't really have much to share other than the above, I just figured you'd like to know we're still alive and kicking. You're still the first true friend I ever had, and if it wasn't for you then I'd of been stuck with Circus Night forever. So thank you, because I never got the chance to say that._

 _Hope to see you soon, Pause_

Mira came over with a couple of drinks for the two as Gray finished reading the first letter. "Anything good?"

"Yep!" Gray grinned happily, "It was from an old friend of mine, from back just before I joined Fairy Tail. I haven't heard from him in awhile".

"Aww, that's sweet. Hopefully the rest of your mail is from those old friends you had on your journey".

"W-Wait a sec!" Natsu interrupted, confused and bewildered, "You never told me about your journey to Fairy Tail from after Lyon left you in the snow. How come?"

"It's an awfully long story, I've never told anyone the full thing. All I've leaked is that I made some really awesome friends during that time".

"Oh...so how'd you hear about Fairy Tail?" Natsu asked, taking a glug of his drink as Mira left the two.

"I met Gildarts while I was out there. He told me he knew Ur...so he told me about visiting Fairy Tail and seeing all the strong mages there. But I only separated from him after rescuing two girls and defeating a monster and a dark guild".

Natsu's jaw dropped open "You helped him beat a dark guild when you were just a kid?!"

"Well, yeah. But, not exactly. I helped him defeat a bunch of prisoners that were set free, he was posing as one".

"That's so cool! Did you defeat any other dark guilds?!"

"Err, let me think...well, soon after Lyon left me I happened to wander onto a girl being bullied. More like she was being used by some sort of dark guild, so I took it upon myself to save her". Gray explained briefly whilst opening a second letter.

"All by yourself...? Cool...I've underestimated you all this time Gray".

"Don't worry about it. Speaking of which...t-this is from that same girl". _Nano_... Gray remembered how he'd left her without saying goodbye after she reunited with her family. He knew it was stupid now but at the time the death of his parents and Ur and being abandoned by Lyon was fresh in his mind, and seeing someone reunite with their parents had stung his heart painfully.

 _Gray-kun!_

 _I'm so happy to see that you're okay! In case you're wondering, I saw the Grand Magic Games, you were amazing! I still remember how you helped me all those years ago, and it made me think that I could come see you sometime! I've learnt the magic I wanted as well, remember I said I didn't like the magic I had? Well I've been studying hard to perfect the magic I wanted. So before I thought of anything else, I packed up my bags and I'm on my way to Magnolia right now! It'll be so great to see you again!_

 _Nano x_

Gray sighed as he folded the letter back up and put it with Pause's. Erza and Lucy walked over with Juvia and joined the boys. "So what are you two up to?" Lucy smiled politely.

"Gray's got some letter from his friends. Friends he had before us and before Fairy Tail in general" Natsu answered her. "Some of them are girls~"

"Oooh, I knew you were handsome Gray but I didn't have you down as a player" Erza teased, earning a glare.

"They're not my girlfriends! I haven't heard from them for ages, I'm surprised they even remembered me".

"I bet the Grand Magic Games helped" Juvia commented.

"Yeah...that's what they've all said so far..." Gray ripped open the third and final one. He already guessed who it'd be from.

 _Gray-kun!_

 _Hehe, it's me Mary! Remember me and my sister? We saw what's become of you. So you joined the Fairy Tail guild, huh? That's so awesome! Hey, hey, remember when I asked if we'd see one another again before we parted ways? And you said we would, you promised! Well, I kinda thought seeing you at the Grand Magic Games was like fate, so we're on our way down to see you in Magnolia!_

 _See you soon! Mary_

Gray chuckled and set the letters aside. That had just made his day. "Well guys, I guess we're gonna have some visitors soon".

"Wait, do you mean...?" Lucy's eyes widened, as well as everyone else's.

"Yep, they're coming to visit".

* * *

Later that evening, the doors opened up to reveal 5 figures and Gray beamed as he walked up to them. "Hey guys, welcome to Fairy Tail. Long time no see". It wasn't long before he was tackled by Nano, Mary, Amelie, Doronbo and Pause. Gray laughed and eventually was let up. "Pleased to see me then I take it?"

"Still a cocky bastard even when he's grown up". Doronbo smirked.

Gray smirked back, hands clasped behind his back, rocking gently on his heels. "Stolen anything as of late?"

"Brat".

"Stalker".

"Runt".

"Creep".

"Guys don't start this again" Pause sighed but still had a smile on his face. "I'm glad to see you're doing alright Gray. To be honest, I didn't say in the letter that we would come down because we didn't know if we could, but our guild master let us and so we got on the next train here".

"Don't sweat it. I'm just glad you guys are okay! I mean, it was around 10 years ago we last saw each other".

Nano tackled him into another hug. "You left me without saying goodbye meanie!" she hit his arm playfully, "but thank you for reuniting me with my parents, and for defeating Chrono Noise. If it weren't for you, I don't know what would've happened".

"Yeah, same for me. Thanks for getting me out of Circus Night. I'm glad you're a Fairy Tail mage".

"Yeah Gray-kun! You totally suit being here. That ice magic of yours has gotten extremely powerful!" Mary beamed.

Her sister, Amelie, just smiled and giggled. "What happened to the Gold Cotton I gave you to sell, is that how you got here?"

Gray blushed in embarrassment and then glared and pointed at Doronbo. "Blame him! He stole it offa me but made a big mistake in not giving himself time to get away, by the time I got it back it was soaked since it'd been raining so...yeah..."

"It was hardly my fault, it was a great place for stealing things offa folk".

"Tsk. Anyway, you guys might as well meet the rest of this badass guild". As if it was a cue for him, Natsu leaped onto Gray's back and grinned brightly.

"I'm Natsu! Pleased to meet ya!"

"Hey get off me!"

"Nope, you're comfy"

"Natsu! So help me I will murder you someday!"

Pause chuckled, "That's what you used to say to me Gray".

Gray chuckled too as he recalled it all, and led the group to his table where everyone got chatting and began to try and embarrass their poor ice mage. Well, at least his friends didn't oppose to his old comrades. He let out a heavy sigh which caught Juvia's attention. "Hm?"

"Juvia is glad Gray-sama found his way to Fairy Tail through great people".

"Yeah? ...Me too".

* * *

 **Aww crap...I forgot Roka... oh well, she was in like 3 pages or something anyway.**

 **Well, so maybe the WHOLE thing was to do with the new fic I'm planning. But seriously, if you haven't read Ice Trail yet then go do so because it is so awesome! Hehe, it may not be canon to the Fairy Tail story, but it's amazing anyway :) And Pause is my favourite character from it...after Gray of course!**


	7. Bullies And Being Left Behind

**Do I update this way more often than anything else I have going? Probably. It feels like it. Go forth and review my other creations! (Reviews help me write quicker believe it or not...)**

* * *

"Gah!"

Natsu was surprised to wake up in Isvan and have Gray thrown into the snow at his feet. The boy had a few spots of blood seeping in through the material in his clothing and Natsu looked up to see a group of boys sneering at him. "What's wrong with you, eh? You're so weak Fullbuster. I bet Daddy's so ashamed of you sometimes, no, make that all the time actually. Well boys, since this is the end of the line for him, why don't I let you two do the honours of beating him to another bloody pulp. Who knows, Daddy might even get rid of him for seeing his precious son in such a state. That new baby of theirs is bound to replace him anyway". Natsu could only dreadfully watch as the child form of his best friend was then yanked from the ground only to be pushed back down and beaten.

When the group finally cleared off, Natsu saw that Gray could hardly move. He was pretty sure a bone had been broken or something at least, but he wasn't betting on it. Gray managed to grab a handful of snow shakily and proceeded to dab the substance onto his wounds, hissing as cold snow met hot blood and created a stinging impact. Natsu's eyes widened. No wonder Gray didn't mention much about his past...especially something like this. He then briefly remembered Gray talking about running away in a previous dream, had those boys been the ones to give him that idea? Natsu became more alert when the boy struggled to pick himself up from a wound on his leg, and when he did so, he limped a little all the way to the usual place where he hung out with his friends, the outskirts of Isvan.

When Gray reached his friends (Tama and Takeru were the only ones there), Takeru noticed him first and immediately scrambled to his feet and almost tripped in rushing over to his friend. "Gray what happened?!" Gray only looked into his friend's eyes and it said everything his voice couldn't. "Dammit! I can't believe they got you again! I couldn't even protect you one last time..."

"W-What...do you mean...?" Gray asked, trembling slightly as he hugged his friend.

"I'm leaving Isvan tomorrow morning...I just heard today, I'm really sorry Gray. You'll always be my best friend, but my mum and dad think I'd be better off at another school than the one here. I don't wanna leave, cause I...I love you Gray Fullbuster".

"N-No...y-you can't go! You can't just up and leave me!" he looked over at Tama, "I suppose you're going too, huh?" The girl nodded, of course she would, these two were siblings. His other friends went to a different school, so Gray knew he was screwed when school started again - those bullies would be on his tail pretty much all the time until he got home.

* * *

Natsu blinked a few times as the setting before him suddenly changed to a few weeks later. He soon figured out that Gray had stayed at home all the time after Takeru and Tama had left for their new home. He looked round to find himself in front of a school that looked like it needed demolishing and rebuilding anew. He quickly stepped to the side as students began to pour in through the doors. He soon spotted Gray and followed the disheartened child to his class, taking the seat at the back beside the Fullbuster boy which had always been Takeru's seat prior to the move during the school break. He saw Gray tense up a little as other students filed in to class, some being late, and once everyone had taken their seats and had the register called, the teacher began to teach her lesson. Both Gray and Natsu didn't pay much attention to what was going on - Gray just wrote whatever was written on the board without fully processing what he was writing and after what felt like an eternity of lecturing from someone who knew close to nothing about you, it was time for lunch.

Though, Gray decided to stay in class today instead of going outside like the other children. He'd always gone outside when Takeru and Tama were around but now they were gone, a part of him felt empty. Gray sighed as he pulled out his lunch and stared at it for a moment before shoving it back in bag - it was the lunch that Takeru always traded with him for. Natsu became more worried, if Gray wasn't eating over this then Natsu felt a sickly feeling in his stomach at what could happen next.

When school was finally over, Gray shiftily looked around before ducking down an alleyway and racing home as fast as he could, slipping and tripping at times in desperation. He turned a corner only to freeze as the bullies smirked and the boy began to shake. "Well, well, well, trying to run are we? C'mere so we can teach you another valuable lesson!" But this time Gray managed to swallow his fear and dive past them and run even faster until he was constantly banging on his front door. It finally was opened by his mother and the raven haired boy shot inside and huddled with a blanket beside the fire. Mika sighed as Natsu slipped his way in and sat next to Gray.

"Gray...you have to tell someone what's going on".

"How will that help? They won't stop...not after Takeru left..."

"Gray...he still keeps in touch right?"

"Yeah but it's not the same..."

Mika sighed again and came over to kneel behind him and hug her little boy gently. She kissed his head and eventually lulled him into a sleep, setting him on the couch and covering him with the blanket. She went back to doing her cooking for dinner that evening as Gray slept off his worries.

* * *

Natsu walked towards the guild doors, feeling somewhat guilty that he was leaving everyone just to go and train himself. Happy flew beside him until something caught hold of Natsu's wrist. He looked over his shoulder to find it was Gray, blue eyes watery and pleading. "Don't go..." was all that came out of his mouth as a small whisper, trying hard not to break down in front of everyone and make a sweet mockery of himself and have himself drowning in people's sympathy. Natsu smiled sadly and turned to hug his friend tightly, remembering his dream from awhile back.

"Don't worry Gray, I'll be back before you know it, okay? You're always gonna be my best friend/rival/favourite ice princess".

Gray huffed a chuckle at that last one and returned Natsu's embrace comfortingly. He supposed he always had Juvia if Natsu was leaving. It'd be like he was going on a job like he used to before Lucy joined. He let out a small sigh and the two parted slowly. "Stay safe okay?"

"It's a promise Fullbuster, cause I love ya like a brother from another mother".

"...Don't use flattery on me, Pyro".

* * *

 **Well...at least that didn't turn out too dark...I think? I don't even know what made me write a chapter about him being bullied but obviously my brain thought having Lyon insult him in an earlier chapter wasn't enough...gee, thanks Brain. Someone asked me once why people tend to torture Gray most of the time in fanfictions and I was like "...Cause he has such a tragic and emotional past that even though we've seen a lot of it, we can't help but terrorise the little ice devil more? Or perhaps because everyone around him who he's close to ends up leaving him or ending up dead. Or so he thinks". Y'know what? Now that I think about it, when Lyon abandoned him, I wonder if Gray ever thought he'd ended up dead even with his magic until they 'reunited' on Galuna Island? Hm...something to think about I suppose. Plus who else thought it'd be cool if Silver joined Fairy Tail to be with his son? (Yes, yes, he said he wanted to be with Mika since he found out his son was alive. But heck, father and son in Fairy Tail would've been awesome~)**

 **Also, the end part of this is for that time in the manga where Natsu leaves for a year before the disbandment. I know I said I don't read the manga, that's true, but I saw a picture of Gray looking evil [and like his father might I add] and was like, heck I gotta read that arc! So I did, lol. I know, stupid but I couldn't help myself.**

 **...Why does nobody think about shipping Gray x Jerome from the Avatar guild...?**


	8. Deliora's Attack

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in forever and ever but I couldn't think of an idea and then I just came up with this one so...yeah. Plus, I'm still partially on FT hiatus :) Or at least I'm trying to be...keep getting ideas, lol**

* * *

Natsu, Juvia and Lyon awoke to the sight of one heck of a destroyed village dumped in snow. But the thing that caught their attention most once they'd acknowledged one another's presence was the huge demon known as Deliora that towered over everything and continued to destroy whatever was in it's way. All three mages knew that this was to be revealed to them at some point from the weird dreams they'd been having, so the first thing they set out to do was find where Gray was (hopefully) hiding.

They walked through rubble and ruins, Deliora's roars deafening them - Natsu most of all - until they saw something shift ahead of them. Lyon noticed it first and signalled for the other two to follow him. They passed a few dead bodies which made even Lyon shiver and gulp a lump of air down his throat. The ice mage saw something shift again before what they were looking for crawled out from under a broken wall.

Dark blue eyes darted around, small body trembling as he caught sight of the village's destroyer. The boy's breathing immediately quickened until he was hyperventilating before Deliora let out another roar that made Gray cover his ears and screw his eyes shut. Tears streamed down his face as he dared to peek back under the rubble he'd crawled out from. "Mom..." came a broken whisper. "Mom, c'mon...we gotta find Dad..."

Gray didn't receive any response from the trapped body that he could barely see but still recognised. He eventually sat back just staring at the gap, tempted to crawl back inside and wait for his life to be taken too. He decided against it and shakily stood up, stumbling forward a bit as he tried to walk, there was a searing pain in his right leg. The young boy kept stumbling forward through the streets. "Gotta...find Dad..."

The three mages followed him and soon enough, Gray found Silver. The boy instantly burst into tears again and slumped onto his knees beside the man, fingers curling up into fists as large sobs racked his small frame. "Dad..." Gray managed to crawl under his father's arm and nestled close without a care until Deliora stood nearby and roared again. Gray, suddenly filled with a vile anger, stood up and glared sharply at the demon. "Shut up... Shut up... SHUT UP!" he screamed.

The demon stopped and seemed to look down at the boy, the only one from this village that was still alive. Gray flinched as it moved to look at him directly and quickly stumbled into a run. Lyon, Juvia and Natsu followed him as Gray ran through, over and under bits and pieces of various buildings. His school, his dad's shop, his friends' houses, etc. were all in ruins with bodies piled either under or amongst them. Gray kept running, even when he tripped a few times, until a wall shook from the tremor of Deliora's footstep and crumbled down onto the boy, effectively trapping his legs. Gray shook even more, slowly losing consciousness. "Help! Somebody...anybody! Help..." he cried before his vision went black.

Lyon immediately crouched by the boy, and all three visitors watched the demon slowly walk away from the village. Gray lay motionless in his trapped position but they all knew that if they moved him then it would alter something. This is how Lyon found him when he and Ur had come to inspect the ruins.

He remembered the days where he and Ur had tried to coax Gray from his shaken and broken shell, and it wasn't until Ur had left the two boys alone one morning that Gray had decided to open up about his fears. What if someone else was alive? What if Deliora found him again? What if he was cursed in some way? Lyon hadn't known what to do other than give Gray's sobbing form a firm and protective hug, promising to protect him from then onwards.

"It's worse than I thought..." Natsu said quietly, "I didn't think it had been this bad when he finally told me about it..." Before anything else could be said, the three began to glow and eventually faded, leaving the dream.

* * *

Natsu walked into the guild that morning and looked around for his brawling partner to not find him anywhere. He went to where Juvia sat with Gajeel and greeted them both respectively before asking the water mage if she'd seen the ice mage anywhere; Juvia shook her head and only replied that it was because it was a day where Gray chose to be alone. Natsu facepalmed mentally. Of course it was, what an idiot he could be sometimes. Deciding it was even better to not go and find Gray after all, Natsu went and engaged in the usual conversation with Lucy.

Meanwhile, Lyon was currently with Gray, sat on the edge of a snowy cliff, both remembering their childhood together. Lyon had recently told Gray about what happened to his own parents and what had brought him to finding Ur. Gray was surprised to obtain such information from Lyon, and to know that they weren't much different than what they originally thought. Gray closed his eyes and subtly laid his head on Lyon's shoulder, sighing contently into the cold air. Lyon glanced at him with a smile and wrapped an arm round the younger one's shoulders, giving his onw contented sigh as he also closed his eyes.

Surely, their ice mage needed all the love they could offer him.

* * *

 **That last sentence is horribly placed, why did I write that? Oh, cause I didn't know how else to end it lol**


	9. The White Haired Boy

**So this one could be considered a cameo from _Winter Storm_ (a now multi chap fic of Lyon's life before he met Ur and how he met her) so this isn't a dream as such, it's more like a memory for Lyon - but from Gray's side of the story.**

* * *

"Hey guys, shouldn't we help him?"

"Gray, he's probably dead being out here in this weather".

"Yeah but still, my Dad says that if we ever find anyone injured or upset, we should try our best to help them".

"Oh yeah, because that's the way he met and fell in love with your mum".

"Shut up Takeru. If you're not gonna help him then I can at least try". Gray walked over, cautiously, to the small white haired boy that sat huddled in the gathering blizzard. "A-Are you alright?" he called above the wind, effectively gaining a stern glare from the stranger.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" he spat, voice dripping with irritation.

Gray frowned, concerned and offered out his hand like he'd seen his father do when on one of his rounds in the village. "Let me take you to our doctor, she'll be able to help you with anything you need".

"I don't need help, especially from some dumb child like yourself. I just need to get my energy back and the sooner that happens, the sooner I can leave you and this wretched place behind".

"...Where are you going? Are you a traveller?"

"No. And none of your business, brat".

"Hey look, you're probably only a year or a couple of months older than he is, don't be so blind towards his help. Put whatever pride you have aside for the moment and let him help you". Takeru had come to stand beside Gray, wrapping his arms round the young raven. The white haired boy raised a brow in surprise.

"Aren't you two a little young to be dating?"

"We're not dating!" Gray squeaked, roughly shoving his friend off him and grinning sheepishly at the boy. "It's just a thing he likes to do, that's all. But can I at least take you to our doctor?"

"Yeah, she's my mum, so you'll be in good hands!" Takeru puffed out his chest proudly.

The stranger rolled his eyes and replied with a sarcastic mutter that made Gray smirk. "Well at least that's good to know".

* * *

Gray and Takeru sat on the couch together in the waiting room of the doctor's building where Takeru's mum worked. They were currently passing the time by playing Rock, Paper, Scissors and Takeru had won three games out of five so far, but they didn't want to call quits yet, even if the winner was plainly obvious. Heads turned at the sound of a door sliding open and the two bounced off the couch and rushed over to the patient they were ever so proud of rescuing. The boy only had a bandage wrapped around his arm, from his elbow downwards and leaving his fingers bare and had a plaster on his cheek.

Gray grinned and hugged the stranger round the neck once they all left the doctor's. The white haired boy grunted and pushed him off, letting him stumble before falling back into the arms of his friend. "Can I at least know where you're heading?"

The boy sighed and gave a small grunt. "If you really must know, you little nosy brat, then I'm searching for a strong mage to teach me magic. So I'm heading nowhere in particular, just wandering all over this goddam country until I find what I'm looking for".

"Will I get to see you again someday?"

"...Don't count on it".

Gray and Takeru watched the boy they helped walk away from Isvan before turning to one another once he was out of sight and proceeding to start up a game of tag around the village.

* * *

 **Okay, so conclude from this that Gray doesn't remember Lyon when they finally do meet again after Deliora's attack because he lost the memory of it when he fell unconscious during the attack. Also Lyon doesn't bring it up because he's either way too focused on his training or he doesn't want to stir up any painful memories - but he is genuinely glad to see Gray again, even if it means pretending not to have a clue who he is to begin with.**

 **Hope that kinda made sense...? Anyway, please review and if you haven't checked out _Winter Storm_ yet then please be my guest and go read that and leave a nice review on that too :D**

 **Also I know it short but it is just a cameo for another story of mine... :/**


	10. Sister Issues

**Heeey...I'll probably only update this once I get an idea...you guys, feel free to suggest things too**

* * *

Juvia awoke in Isvan's snowy village once more just in time to see Gray walk past her, a little girl following him and reaching out to try and grab hold of him. The boy stifled an irritated growl but it was clear on his face that he didn't want the company. His hands were shoved down tight in his pockets, his shoulders hunched and his eyes halfway cast to the ground as he walked.

The little girl had the same brown hair as Mika, but had Gray and Silver's dark blue eyes. Juvia immediately put her down as being Gray's little sister - the sibling he never wanted. "Gwey! Gwey wait!" the little girl called out to her brother before tripping and falling face first into the snow with a hard thud.

Gray stopped and looked over his shoulder - his parents would kill him for sure this time if he kept walking. He waited for his sister to get back up again and manage to latch onto his arm like she normally did, giggling and praising herself on a job well done at finally being able to get closer to her big brother. When she didn't move, he shuffled his position and then took a few steps toward her, growing sort of worried. "Isolda?" he called quietly. His worry grew when she didn't respond and he knelt down beside his sister and pulled her body into a light embrace. "Snow? C'mon Snow stop playing around, I gotta get going".

Isolda was his sister's true name, and the name he called her the most, but her nickname was Snow and it was rare that Gray would use it. His eyes flickered over her body frantically and before he knew it he was carrying her back home as quick as he could manage.

* * *

"You just had to do this on today of all days, didn't you? I swear Isolda, if you're faking this then you're gonna wish you weren't" Gray grumbled, mostly to himself, as he finally got home and knocked on the door as hard as he could. It wasn't long before Mika opened the door and as soon as she saw her daughter, she scooped up the little girl from her son's arms and hurried to get her next to the fire. Gray poked his head inside, jealousy beginning to boil in his stomach.

"Gray, tell me what happened". Mika commanded but worry made it sound less firm.

"She tripped and fell and wouldn't wake up".

"Where were you?"

"Outside".

"Gray, now is not the time, tell me where you were when this happened!"

"I was on my way to the forest, like I told you this morning".

"Where were you _exactly_?"

"What does it even matter where I was?" the boy half snapped.

Mika gave a heavy sigh and shook her head. Gray shrugged and took it as his cue to leave, thankful to whoever was letting him get away from his sibling this time.

* * *

"Honestly, what's the big deal anyway?"

Lucinda sighed. She was a friend of Gray's from when he'd run away from his lookout post one day and they'd met in the forest they were currently walking through now. Gray often came to see the raven-shapeshifter-girl more often nowadays since Takeru and Tama had moved away. "The big deal is that you have a new member to your family".

"And?"

"Didn't you say that your friend had a little sister?"

"Yeah but Tama wasn't that bad".

"Why are you so against having Snow around? I thought you'd of grown out of your jealousy by now".

"I'm not jealous!" Gray snapped.

Lucinda changed into her raven form and flew up to perch on a low tree branch. "Of course not because otherwise you wouldn't have snapped at me just then" she cackled lightly. "Tsk, tsk, where have your manners gone, hm?"

"Oh don't even try patronising me".

"Wow, that's a big word for your vocabulary, careful not to overheat your brain!"

"Lucinda cut it out!" Gray couldn't help but smile a little. Lucinda somehow had this way of making him happy when he didn't want to be. He waited to see if she would come down again but when she didn't make an effort to move from her perch, he climbed his way up to her. "Go on...give me the education of a lifetime" he sighed sarcastically.

Lucinda fluffed up her feathers before changing back into her human form and swung her legs from the branch. "How's your bully problem?"

"Dying down but not gone completely, why?"

"Just wondering. Are you still on lookout duty?"

"Yeah, why else would I be here right now?"

Lucinda shrugged and looked up through the trees. "Oh what I would give for the world to use magic for good... I mean, everyone should use their magic for good. And once you get your magic finally, I definitely wanna see it! I bet your magic will be just like you are, tough on the outside but you're able to break through to the real you".

"Like...ice?" the boy thought for a moment and shrugged. "Nah, ice magic seems pretty useless if you're in one of those guild places. And I bet those aren't much fun either".

Lucinda just giggled and the two spent the majority of the day together until Gray finally decided it was time he headed home if he wanted to be fed.

* * *

Gray trudged home as slowly as he could manage before the sky got too dark. For once he wasn't excited to see his parents when he got through the front door. They'd only be fussing over Isolda and he really didn't want to see that. He hated it. Juvia could feel strong dark vibes come from Gray's aura and to be quite honest, it scared her. She'd seen Gray be a little jealous before, like that one time he and Lyon had been turned back into kids and barely stopped arguing with each other, and she'd seen him have hatred in his eyes before, like when Natsu would get praised for something that didn't need praise but more of a scolding. She knew that after Ur and Lyon had found him his heart had been filled with an unsettling darkness but never before had the water mage felt it this strongly. She thought that perhaps overtime Gray had gotten used to it all, since he didn't seem to hold anything against Asuka back at Fairy Tail. But it was like he'd said to Lucinda earlier, his best friend had had a younger sister and he was fine with her because they weren't family. For the life of her, Juvia couldn't figure out what exactly made Gray so upset and annoyed by having a sibling.

"What would Lucinda know anyway?" Gray grumbled, finishing a thought out loud "Everything was fine until Isolda came along! I was happy, I had friends, I had mum and dad's attention equally, I had everything and then she comes along and ruins it all!" He sighed. "I guess the only good thing that comes out of this is that I met Lucinda and that Natsu talks to me more often - even if it is just to see the brat".

Suddenly a flare went off in the sky and Gray stopped in his tracks with a soft growl. "Great, now I'm out after curfew too. Mum's gonna murder me when I get home...that is...if I even go home~" a wicked smirk made it's way onto the boy's face and he quickly ran towards the center of town, remembering a festival was supposed to be going on there. "If everyone's at the festival then I can slip home and grab what I need. This time I'm leaving and there's nobody to stop me. Not my parents, not Lucinda, nobody!"

Juvia followed him as he slunk around town, keeping to the shadows and stealing a few pieces here and there from the stalls that had been left open for the festival. He searched the crowd for his parents and saw them, his mother holding his sister and his father's arm round his mother's waist. They all looked so happy without him, as if he didn't exist anymore. It made him growl and he furrowed his brows as he made his way home, silently hoping nobody had spotted him.

* * *

Gray managed to climb into an open window to his house and landed on the floor with a soft thud. He looked around and scoffed. He didn't need this place, he was certain of it. He went straight to his room and found an old bag, shoving the stolen items in it before grabbing a few things from around his room. Juvia knew she was dreaming but part of surely couldn't believe that this had really happened. She also knew that nowadays he probably regretted not giving Isolda a chance before, now that Isvan was entirely gone.

Gray tied the bag up and looked around his room with soft, sad eyes before he shook his head and left the room. He shut his bedroom door and made his way downstairs only to stop dead when he saw that his father had come home. Silver looked at his son from the door, arms folded over his chest. "Gray..." the boy cowered slightly at his father's rough, firm tone. "Where have you been?"

"I went to the forest, like I usually do. I was only with Lucinda..."

"And how long have you been here?"

"About...10 minutes...?"

Silver said nothing, just uncrossed his arms and sighed. "Gray...about your sister-"

"Oh now what?" he muttered softly under his breath.

"-she's suffered from memory loss after the fall she had while with you".

Gray's eyes widened. "What? So she doesn't remember us?"

"She only remembers some things. Doctor said she might not ever remember some things, such as her brother. She has no clue you exist Gray".

"Well, then that's a good thing" Gray half spat. "Who'd want me anyway?"

Silver looked at his son more firmly before huffing - it was clear who Gray took after more. "Gray this has to stop. Either you accept the fact you have a younger sibling or you can go live with that friend of yours in the forest if you so please".

"Fine! I was planning to leave this stupid village anyway!" Gray's breathing quickened a small pace and he hopped down the last few steps of the stairs. "After all, who'd want someone like me around anyway?! It's not like anybody would care if I left!"

Silver's eyes narrowed. "Your family would care Gray. If you walk through that door then just think about how your mother would react".

"She didn't care earlier when I brought the little brat back home after the fall! You probably hear the things everyone around here says about me but you choose not to listen and pretend like everything's okay! Well it's not, and I can't take it anymore!" Gray hadn't noticed he'd let tears fall down his face until he rubbed furiously at his eyes. "I'm nothing but a demon child anyway..."

"Demon child? Gray, I thought you knew better than to believe what others say about you. How long has this been going on for?"

"What does it matter. It's true what they say, I can't do anything! I was meant to be village leader someday when I grow up, just like you! But instead I screwed up so badly that I got put on Lookout! And I couldn't even do that right!" Juvia felt her heart break. She knew how much Gray admired his father, it was clear as day. She also knew how Gray would turn out to be, the man she'd so helplessly fallen in love with, and that mended her heartbreak a little. Gray did live up to his name, he was strong and tough but if you got through to him enough then he was sweet and gentle.

Silver slowly took in his son's words before embracing the boy into a hug. "Be strong". The man knelt down to Gray's level and patted his shoulders gently. "You know who you truly are, Gray. You are none of the things they call you out there. And I believe, no, I _know_ that you will become so much more than what you are now when you grow up. So what if you don't end up as villager leader like I am? That doesn't make you who you are. What matters is how you view yourself, and you should be proud of who you are. You have a young heart, make the most of it while you still can. I guarantee that one day your name will be known all around the world. You will make so many people proud of you, son. Promise me...promise me you won't listen to those accusations anymore".

Gray slightly nuzzled against his father's stomach and emitted a soft "I promise" from his mouth as Juvia's dream began to end. Silver was right. And Juvia promised to herself to help keep Gray's newfound legacy alive for as long as she lived.

* * *

 **So many more words than usual...so...many...ugh... *faints***


End file.
